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REV. DR. BUCKNER FANNING MARCH 13, 1926 – FEBRUARY 14, 2016 Buckner Fanning, the Baptist Pastor best known to generations of San Antonians for packing faith and inspiration into 30-second TV commercials in the 1970s, died Sunday, February 14, 2016 at 89, one month short of his 90th birthday. A native of Houston, Buckner Fanning's faith and outlook were informed by his World War II service in the Marine Corps; as he was stationed in Nagasaki, Japan, after the atomic bombing of 1945. Home from the war, he enrolled at Baylor University and was swept up in a youth revival movement that inspired his career. He later graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and came to Trinity Baptist in 1959. As a young Evangelist in the 1950s, his talents were routinely compared to Billy Graham's. His genius for storytelling engaged believers and non-believers alike throughout his long career, his admirers said. Buckner formed long friendships with Catholic, Jewish and Protestant leaders who interfaith cooperation was credited with helping bridge the city's religious racial and socio-economic divides. After retiring from Trinity Baptist, he helped establish a new church, The Fellowship of San Antonio, and founded a Christian school in the Stone Oak area that he often visited. MESSAGE FROM THE BUCKNER FANNING FAMILY First of all, we want to extend our most heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation to each one of you who have called, texted, emailed or spoken to us about Dad. It is incredibly uplifting and heartening to hear your words of testimony about how Dad touched and impacted your life. Your words help us so much during this difficult time and we want to thank you. Secondly, we want Dad's memorial service to be open and available to anyone who wishes to celebrate his life with us. In order to accommodate as many people as would like to celebrate with us, we have planned two identical memorial services to which you are invited. Here are the details of these services… Sunday, February 28, 2016 1:00 p.m. The Fellowship of San Antonio 23755 Canyon Golf Road San Antonio, TX 78258 210 402-3672 Sunday, February 28, 2016 4:00 p.m. Trinity Baptist Church 319 E. Mulberry San Antonio, TX 78212 210 733-6201 His family has provided an opportunity to those who wish to spend a moment with Buckner on Friday, February 26, 2016 from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. at Mission Park Funeral Chapels North, 3401 Cherry Ridge Drive. Buckner will be laid to rest with family present at Mission Burial Park North. Buckner was preceded to heaven by his parents, Charlie and Beryl Fanning and is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years, Martha Fanning; sons, Mike and Harriet Fanning and Steve and Cecily Fanning; daughter, George and Lisa Fanning Pilgrim; grandchildren, Sean and Julia Fanning DelBeccaro, Michael Fanning, Avery Fanning, Meagan Fanning, Hunter Callahan, Luke Pilgrim; brother, Bob and Margaret Fanning; nephews, Barry Fanning and Marc and Amy Fanning. We would also like to thank Carmen Garcia and Josie Leal for being like family to Mom, Dad and all the Fannings. Finally, thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers for our family. Before Dad stood up to preach every Sunday, he always repeated words that Jesus told His disciples, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain". Dad's life is a testimony of these words and we invite you to celebrate with us the life he lived on this earth and the eternal life he is enjoying right now with Jesus. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to: The Buckner Fanning Evangelistic Foundation, 1655 Hawks Tree Lane, San Antonio, TX 78248 ~ www.bucknerfanning.com

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Rev. Dr. Buckner Fanning

March 13, 1926 - February 14, 2016